Veritas prep test accuracy

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Veritas prep test accuracy

by aviadsimon » Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:38 am
Hi,

I am planning to take the real GMAT for the first time in a month or so. I've begun studying 2-3 weeks ago, but I've been studying pretty hard and I have a good background in math (currently an engineering student).
I purchased the Veritas prep tests and I am quite happy with them.

My CAT tests result are as follows:
Veritas prep CAT1 28.8 - 710 (Q49 V39).
Official GMAT prep CAT 1 - 30.8 - 700 (Q49 V36).
Veritas prep CAT2 5.9 - 730 (Q50 V40).
Veritas prep CAT3 8.9 - 750 (Q51 V42).

Of course I am going to complete the rest of Veritas prep CATs and the second official GMAT prep CAT before I go for the actual test.

How accurate is your grading system? How far is the real score usually from the mean score and from the highest score? Is it known to be more accurate on the quants section?
I plan to apply to top 10 schools so every 10 points matter to me....

thx

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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:40 am
Congratulations on an impressive run of practice test scores! And good question - our tests are scored using Item Response Theory (the data-driven system that also powers the GMAT and sections of the GRE), and we've been really happy with how that system both scores and administers tests. One small item to keep in mind, though, is that because our algorithm is so rooted in statistics and probability, we're committed to letting the algorithm do its thing as opposed to creating our own bias in the scoring, which essentially means this:

While some tests (understandably) choose to keep the majority of their standard error* on the "underestimate your score" side, the standard error on our tests can come on either end (+ or -).

So in your case with scores creeping higher into the 700s, I'm pretty confident in saying that your current score level is into the 700s, but I wouldn't look at that 750 as overwhelmingly convincing evidence that you're scoring 750+. My prediction is that your most likely current score is between 710 and 740.

*Regarding standard error - even the official test claims a standard error between 20 and 30 points, so I'd always look at any practice test score and consider the overall score to be a +/- 30 point range. GMAC itself even advises schools to do the same when looking at official score reports (although theirs may be +/- 20...).
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

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by aviadsimon » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:06 pm
Thx for the quick response Brian.

Just another question: is the estimated verbal grade less accurate than the quant estimated grade?
The deviation in the verbal scores is a lot higher in the CATs I've taken...

Thx again